a denomination given to all sorts of balls for fire-arms; those for cannon being of iron, and those for guns, pistols, &c. of lead. See SHOOTING.

Cafe SHOT formerly consisted of all kinds of old iron, nails, mallet-balls, stones, &c. used as above.

SHOT of a Cable, on ship-board, is the splicing of two cables together, that a ship may ride safe in deep waters and in great roads; for a ship will ride easier by one shot of a cable, than by three short cables out ahead.

Grape-SHOT. See GRAPE-SHOT.

Patent-milled SHOT is thus made: Sheets of lead, whose thickness corresponds with the size of the shot required, are cut into small pieces, or cubes, of the form of a die. A great quantity of these little cubes are put into a large hollow iron cylinder, which is mounted horizontally and turned by a winch; when by their friction against one another and against the sides of the cylinder, they are rendered perfectly round and very smooth. The other patent shot is cast in moulds, in the same way as bullets are.

SHOT Flaggon, a sort of flaggon somewhat bigger than ordinary, which in some counties, particularly Derbyshire, it is the custom for the host to serve his guests in, after they have drank above a shilling.

Small SHOT, or that used for fowling, should be well sized, and of a moderate bigness: for should it be too great, then it flies thin, and feathers too much; or if too small, then it hath not weight and strength to penetrate far, and the bird is apt to fly away with it. In order, therefore, to have it suitable to the occasion, it not being always to be had in every place fit for the purpose, we shall set down the true method of making all sorts and sizes under the name of moulded shot. Its principal good properties are to be round and solid.

Take any quantity of lead you think fit, and melt it down in an iron vessel; and as it melts keep it stirring with an iron ladle, skimming off all impurities whatsoever that may arise at the top: when it begins to look of a greenish colour, throw on it as much auripigmentum or yellow orpiment, finely powdered, as will lie on a shilling, to every 12 or 14 pound of lead; then stirring them together, the orpiment will flame.

The ladle should have a notch on one side of the brim, for more easily pouring out the lead; the ladle must remain in the melted lead, that its heat may be the same with that of the lead, to prevent inconveniences which otherwise might happen by its being either too hot or too cold: then, to try your lead, drop a little of it into water, and if the drops prove round, then the lead is of a proper heat; if otherwise, and the shot have tails, then add more orpiment to increase the heat, till it be found sufficient.

Then take a plate of copper, about the bigness of a trencher, which must be made with a hollowness in the middle, about three inches compass, within which must be bored about 40 holes according to the size of the shot which you intend to cast: the hollow bottom should be thin; but the thicker the brim, the better it will retain the heat. Place this plate on a frame of iron, over a tub or vessel of water, about four inches from the water, and spread burning coals on the plate, to keep the lead melted upon it: then take some lead and pour it gently on the coals on the plate, and it will make its way through the holes into the water, and form itself into shot; do this till all your lead be run through the holes of the plate, taking care, by keeping your coals alive, that the lead do not cool, and so stop up the holes.

While you are casting in this manner, another person with another ladle may catch some of the shot, placing the ladle four or five inches underneath the plate in the water, by which means you will see if they are defective, and rectify them.

Your chief care is to keep the lead in a just degree of heat, that it be not so cold as to stop up the holes in your plate, nor so hot as to cause the shot to crack: to remedy the heat, you must refrain working till it is of a proper coolness; and to remedy the coolness of your lead and plate, you must blow your fire; observing, that the cooler your lead is, the larger will be your shot; as the hotter it is, the smaller they will be.

After you have done casting, take them out of the water, and dry them over the fire with a gentle heat, stirring them continually that they do not melt; when dry, you are to separate the great shot from the small, by the help of a sieve made for that purpose, according to their several sizes. But those who would have very large shot, make the lead trickle with a stick out of the ladle into the water, without the plate.

If it slop on the plate, and yet the plate be not too cool, give but the plate a little knock, and it will run again; care must be had that none of your implements be greasy, oily, or the like; and when the shot, being separated, are found too large or too small for your purpose, or otherwise imperfect, they will serve again at the next operation.

The sizes of common shot for fowling are from No 1 to 6, and smaller, which is called mustard seed, or dust shot; but No 5 is small enough for any shooting whatsoever. The No 1 may be used for wild geese; the No 2 for ducks, widgeons, and other water-fowl; the No 3 for pheasants, partridges after the first month, and all the fen-fowl; the No 4 for partridges, woodcocks, &c.; and the No 5 for snipes and all the smaller birds.

Tin-Cafe SHOT, in artillery, is formed by putting a great quantity of small iron shot into a cylindrical tin-box called a canister, that just fits the bore of the gun. Leaden bullets are sometimes used in the same manner; and it must be observed, that whatever number or sizes of the shots are used, they must weigh with their cases nearly as much as the shot of the piece.